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Asbestos lessons learnt

18 November, 1999

Letters

Sir, REGARDING the court case, reported in your November 11 edition ('Asbestos firm pays penalty'), in which Reach Environmental pleaded guilty to contravening asbestos regulations, we have carried out a full investigation and dismissed the manager and employees responsible.

Furthermore, we have completely reviewed and updated our procedures to ensure there is no recurrence.

The project at Imperial Tobacco has been completed and some 8,700 m of asbestos-clad beams have been stripped since the contravention.

The company is satisfied that the non-compliance was an isolated occurrence and is striving to restore its previously unblemished record. Reach Environmental would like to stress that at no time has it been suggested that air-borne asbestos fibres were released into the atmosphere and there was no risk to any operative or the general public.

The judge detailed our efforts and expenditure since the incident and was complimentary to the technical director, Mark Dudley and his workforce.

The court concluded that the fine should relate to the financial standing of the company as a whole and not for its asbestos works. Indeed, the fine wipes out asbestos removal profits for the previous 12 months.